Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with Public Television, addressed the issue of the South Caucasus Railway’s management, noting that Russian control over Armenia’s railway system is currently undermining the country's competitive edge.
"Given the international tensions and the fact that Armenia’s state-owned railway is operated by Russian Railways, we feel that we’re losing our competitive advantage. We need to think about what to do. This isn’t a short-term issue of one, two, three, or four years. We need to find a solution, and we must do so through a friendly, brotherly logic," Pashinyan said, according to Sputnik Armenia.
He noted there are reports suggesting Armenia’s railway is even portrayed as part of a Russian route. According to Pashinyan, this perception is why billions of dollars are now being invested in the construction of the Kars–Dilucu railway. He said he directly raised the issue with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“I asked: why spend billions on building something that already exists? Naturally, the response was diplomatic silence. But now, seeing the reaction in the international press, we understand that this is the core issue. We need to assess what solutions are available to us,” he said.
Pashinyan stressed that the matter concerns Armenia’s strategic and long-term interests, and that all friendly countries should be interested in supporting those interests, not placing Armenia in a deadlock.
In February 2008, Armenia’s railway infrastructure was handed over to the South Caucasus Railway company under a 30-year concession agreement with the Russian side, with an option to extend the term by another 10 years.
